Contact:
Jeremy Craig, 404-413-1357
Georgia State University
Kathleen Robichaud, 404-332-9770, ext. 22
Georgia Research Alliance
ATLANTA — A Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar will join Georgia State University’s new Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, examining the biological functions of carbohydrates, which are common to all life.
Peng George Wang, currently a professor of of chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State University, will bring his laboratory to Georgia State in August.
“I’ve seen the ambitious plans for the university, and I am excited to see that the plans are unfolding very well,” Wang said. “I want to be part of the plan to expand and enhance the university.”
Robin Morris, vice president for research at Georgia State, said Wang brings high-caliber expertise to the university.
“It’s exciting to think of the outstanding potential of our new Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics when you add another GRA Eminent Scholar of the caliber of Dr. George Wang,” Morris said. “He brings to Georgia State world-class expertise in areas that require the integration of knowledge from both chemistry and biology that will lead to new treatments for a range of diseases.”
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| Peng George Wang |
Wang studies glycoscience, which investigates carbohydrates (or sugars) in chemical, biological, agricultural and bioengineering sciences, looking at carbohydrates’ functions in different biological systems.
“Understanding these biological functions will help to make new diagnostic tools and new therapeutics,” Wang said. “This has been well demonstrated recently. It has a very broad impact in many fields, including infectious diseases, oncology, neuroscience and metabolism.”
Carbohydrates are used not only as structural components and energy sources in cells, he said, but also as key elements in nearly all life processes, including bacterial and viral infections, cell adhesion in inflammation and metastasis (the spreading of cancerous cells), and in many other processes.
Wang’s arrival will aid in increasing Georgia’s research prowess, said C. Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance.
“Georgia is recognized worldwide for its strengths in carbohydrate research,” Cassidy said. “Dr. Wang’s research, his eagerness to collaborate with colleagues throughout Georgia, and his interest in developing new drugs and therapeutics will help to enhance this reputation even more widely.”
The new Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics is dedicated to research that will lead to the discovery of better ways to diagnose and treat diseases. It is housed in the new Parker H. Petit Science Center, a facility opened in 2010 that provides state-of-the-art research and teaching capabilities.
“Dr. George Wang is a world-renowned chemist specializing in chemical glycobiology, and he will bring GSU tremendous international recognition and will help augment synergy in our newly formed center,” said Binghe Wang, director of the Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics.
The university will hire additional new faculty for the center as part of the university’s Second Century Initiative (2CI), an ambitious faculty hiring initiative to recruit 100 more faculty members to the university over the next five years.
Under 2CI, the university is hiring faculty under different areas of focus, which includes the Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics.
About GRA: A model public-private partnership of Georgia's research universities, business and state government, the Georgia Research Alliance helps build Georgia's technology-rich economy in three major ways: through attracting Eminent Scholars to Georgia's research universities; through helping create centers of research excellence and through converting research into products, services and jobs that drive the economy. To learn more about GRA, visit www.gra.org.
May 16, 2011